Anthony Bolner: Big Data and Big Data Centers in 2015

Big data is no longer new, but 2014 was the year it went mainstream. An industry analyst coined the term “big data” back in 2001 to articulate the massive growth and availability of data. According to a survey from IDG Enterprise, 70 percent of enterprise organizations have either deployed or were planning to deploy big data-related projects or programs.

All this information means nothing to a company unless they know how they want to use it. Here are five ways companies have implemented big data:

Improving customer service. Amazon uses customer data that they gather online, like a service request, and gives it immediately to the service repair representative calling you on the phone to resolve your problem. They connect the online interaction with the phone call interaction seamlessly. You don’t have to repeat your request, or your name – the conversation between Amazon and the customer begins immediately.

Hammering out issues. Delta Airlines’ “Track My Bag” feature on their app allows you to track your bag yourself. Peace of mind for the consumer and busy traveller. Data and studies showed where the biggest issues were with air travel and this solution was born from that data.

Evolving their business. Netflix changed from a DVD rental company to an absolute powerhouse movie streaming and original content creation company. How? They have always counted on data mining and algorithms to provide an edge. Playing, rating or searching for a video on Netflix are all captured and analyzed. They had millions of data points from watching patterns and are able to understand, with a high degree of confidence, how successful a program will be with consumers.

Transforming their marketing. Avis Budget used big data to transform their entire business platform as explained in a case study examining how Avis Budget transformed its marketing using Big Data. Tim Doolittle, vice president of CRM and marketing science at Avis Budget said: “Technology is used to forecast regional demand for fleet placement and pricing. Data is analyzed to better understand customers’ needs, preferences and intent to rent. From the service side, technology helps us offer a more cohesive customer experience across each of our customer channels.”

Personal data. Fitbit and other fitness tracking devices and apps. These brands are getting their consumers excited about the data they are able to receive like their pulse, steps, calorie count and fitness level. But what’s even smarter, these brands are creating superfans and using big data to give customers even more data like nutritional information or the calorie burn and making it easy for the consumer to understand. By utilizing big data correctly, these companies are actually developing a need and consumer dependence on their products.

The traditional data center needs to be ready for the fast growing demands of big data. Big data is changing the way data centers are operating and some of the needs they have. That’s the word from Rob Clyde, CEO of Adaptive Computing, a specialist in private/hybrid cloud and technical computing environments. He says, “The traditional data center is very much about achieving equilibrium and uptime. On the big data side, scheduling becomes crucial. Without it, you end up with a real logjam.”

The demand for monitoring solutions has brought out a new market segment: data center infrastructure management (DCIM), which is likely to impact the way data center projects are planned, designed, built, and operated. Here’s more from a DBC Network article by David Barista:

“While still in its infancy, the DCIM movement is expected to grow six-fold by 2020, according to a new report by Navigant Research. The firm’s research director, Eric Woods, predicts annual spending on DCIM-related software and services will balloon to more than $4.5 billion over the next six years, from its current market size of $663 million. Moreover, research firm Gartner predicts that 60 percent of large data centers (at least 3,000 square feet) in North America will adopt some type of DCIM solution by 2017.”

The key to data centers handling big data is being able to be more efficient at computing information and compressing it.

With all these increased demands on data collection and organization, data centers will be at the center of it all. Advanced technologies means increased demand for smarter and more efficient storage. This type of demand is moving fast in our industry.